Qazvin Ali – Ghapu

One of the seven, and the only remaining monumental portal of the Qazvin The Safavid Garden Complex made from brick on a stone-based foundation. It was made by the order of Shah Tahmasp and repaired by Shah Abbas. The portal opens to Sepah street, the first street of Iran. the portal is made of a domed vestibule that used to be covered with paint; unfortunately, none of the paintings have survived. The only remained decoration of the portal is the inlaid mosaic work of the façade, written by the famous calligrapher Alireza Abbasi, one of Shah Abbas’s favorite calligraphers. There are two staircases lead to the second floor, where the town criers stood and played Naghare (a king of wind instrument) to announce different things. There used to be two buildings on either side of the portal, the western one was used as stable in the Safavid era and later as a printing shop, and the eastern building used to be a laundry house that turned into a school by Pahlavis.